BELLEVUE, Wash. – New research from The Hartman Group reveals that U.S. food culture is undergoing a major shift that has people more focused on what they eat and less inclined to prepare it themselves.

“This cultural shift puts a new burden on U.S. food companies to create products that are fresh and healthy enough to eat regularly, plus tasty and interesting enough to compete with a host of restaurants, taco trucks, coffee shops and other food venues,” said Laurie Demeritt, CEO of The Hartman Group, a consumer research firm. “To fully understand what consumers want, it is important to study the cultural forces underpinning what and how they eat.”

People’s busy lifestyles are contributing to an increase in snacking, which now represents half of all eating occasions. According to The Hartman Group’s 2013 report, “Modern Eating: Cultural Roots, Daily Behaviors,” there are several key drivers for snacking:

• 73% of snacking is physically driven (44% hunger abatement, 15% nutritional support,  12% bursts of energy)
• 36% of snacking is emotionally driven (23% are “time markers” to create structure in the day, 13% boredom alleviation, 6% reward, encouragement or temporary alleviation of discipline)
• 28% of snacking is socially or culturally driven
• 27% of all snacking is aimless (major implications for obesity)

Additionally, 47% of all eating occasions are performed alone, many from people who live in multi-person households. Eating alone offers time to catch up on work as well as avoid waiting for others.